June 2004. And Ferdinand is in another United dressing room listening to a speech that displays another quintessential Ferguson character trait.
But this time there are no tears.
Instead of losing his mind and handing over the hair dryer, this time Ferguson was showing his bullish side.
An unwavering belief that he could, and would, rebuild the Reds, even in the face of the namesake Special One.
“When José Mourinho arrived at Chelsea in the summer of 2004, there were rumors that I and several other players might leave,” recalls Ferdinand.
“But he told me: ‘Listen, we’re going to build this team and you’re going to be one of the main parts.’
“He told me, ‘Stay with me.’ And he was probably the only coach at that time in the world that I would have listened to like that.
“He said, ‘Trust me. I don’t make mistakes often when it comes to football. Stick with me and we’ll get it right.’
“I was like, ‘I’m there. I’m behind you, I believe in you.'”
Also on board in June of that summer were two men who were to have a huge impact on that 2008 Champions League triumph.
The first is the name of a holder.
A once-in-a-generation English talent, fresh from a great Euro 2004.
A young striker called Wayne Rooney whose transfer made headlines and newspaper columns galore.
The second was an unannounced second coming. The return of Carlos Queiroz to United as Ferguson’s second coach after a failed spell at Real Madrid.
Mourinho’s arrival in the Premier League, despite the Portuguese’s “Special” proclamations, was not just because of him.
It was part and the beginning of a wider internationalization of the Premier League.
This was, in part, because the likes of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich brought an influx of money and a subsequent increase in transfer fees and wages. But he also saw that the Premier League – and its coaches – needed to embrace the global game.
Rooney was a precocious English talent from Croxteth in Liverpool who spoke on the pitch. His impact, once he recovered from his foot fracture in the Euro Cup, was immediate.
In your face, in the goals and in the headlines.
Queiroz was the multilingual Portuguese assistant manager and would in time prove to be a crucial bridge between Ferguson’s roots in east Glasgow and an increasingly cosmopolitan team.
“When I came to the club, the Premier League and Man United weren’t that international,” former Serbia defender Nemanja Vidic told BBC Sport’s new documentary ‘Sir Alex’.
“Carlos was very intelligent,” added former England midfielder Michael Carrick, another of Fergie’s signings during the pre-Moscow rebuild in 2006.
“He really took training practically every day, and he led the week and maybe a little bit more on the tactical side. He was quite dry at times, but focused and good at what he did. And he particularly balanced the boss.” Well.”
Prioritizing speed, especially in attack, was key for Ferguson as, step by step, the rebuild on the road to Moscow began to take shape.
“Wayne and Cristiano had a huge impact, without a doubt,” Queiroz says. “It was part of that change that we had to bring more speed to reduce the reaction time of our opponents. Without a doubt, those two boys completely changed the atmosphere of that club.
“Sir Alex and I always thought we would be the first to train. But when those boys, Cristiano and Wayne, came to the club, they were there before us.”
Rooney and Ronaldo were part of Ferguson’s gift for reinvention that also included recruitment, with a specific mandate: to close the gap between the Premier League and European football.
“Sir Alex told me: ‘I’m looking for someone who can give me more information about European football,'” Queiroz said.
“Someone who can communicate in different languages because in those days Manchester United started to have Spanish players, French players, etc.
“My communication skills in those languages were good and we also had the Sunday to Tuesday shift.
“Football and English culture on Sunday: I attack, you attack. Then on Tuesday, in European football you sometimes have to wait and see. It’s important to create traps. Wait and catch your opponents in their weaknesses.
“In England it was ‘I do the best I can, you do the best you can and we’ll see’. But when you play against Italians, when you play against Spanish teams, it wasn’t the same approach.
“When Sir Alex and I were having these conversations it was about maintaining the balance within the dressing room to play the English style at the weekend and then, three days later in Europe, changing our approach.
“When Sir Alex brought me to Manchester United, one of the first conversations we had… I still remember his words. He told me: ‘Carlos, you have to understand, you are here to help me win another Champions League.'”
